Thursday, May 25, 2017

Facebook's latest ambition: becoming a hub for TV-style content

It’s a small price to pay for a company with more than $32 billion in cash and marketable securities — compared with about $1.2 billion for Netflix — to establish itself as a prime destination in the new age of TV, analysts say.

“Facebook’s business model has been built around driving users to access Facebook multiple times per day,” said Brett Sappington, director of research of consulting firm Parks Associates.

Nearly every time they come, users see ads — and each video ad can bring in up to 10 times the cash of the standard image-and-text variety.

“This move is more about how to keep users immersed in the Facebook experience and watching more ads,” Sappington said.

Many users will use multiple apps to watch videos, including YouTube and Snapchat, but Facebook doesn’t want to cede too much ground.

From the article "Facebook's latest ambition: becoming a hub for TV-style content" by David Pierson and Paresh Dave.